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COMMUNITY
GORP Family Feedback
Fall Favorites Across the Country
By Alice Cary, GORP Family Expert
What's your family's favorite fall outing?
A neighborhood jaunt or a grand adventure? A day trip, a weekend getaway, or perhaps a family reunion?
Unmistakeably Autumn:
Feel the sharpness in the air
Most importantly, what do your kids like best?
We've checked in with GORP families across the country to see what they have planned.
The answer? Everything from foliage hikes and fairs to family reunions in the snow.
At our house, fall is busy, with two birthdays (mine and my son's) and two sets of grandparents coming for a week's stay (at different times, thank goodness!). Meanwhile, the foliage is bursting with a bumper crop of color.
We're blessed with loads of hiking trails near and far. One of our favorites is about two hours away in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire-the 4.4-mile Welch-Dickey Loop Trail. It offers plenty of ledges for kids who love to scramble and climb, plus sweeping views of White Mountain fall foliage for the taller members of the party.
There's a 1600-foot elevation gain, so everyone gets a workout, especially if, like us, you have twin toddlers riding in child carriers!
Leaf-Peeping or Leaf-Leaping?
Three-year-old Carter, reigning Krathkiewicz family Pooh-sticks champion
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While parents are keen for sweeping vistas of fall foliage, most kids could care less. They like to:
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roll in the leaves, |
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jump in them, |
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or, in the case of toddlers, simply crinkle them in their hands. |
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We have an annual tradition of gathering a huge pile of leaves at the bottom of our back hill, and then Will, our son, drives into them with his Big Wheel trike. Think of it as an easy X-Game for youngsters.
Gary and Kendra Krathkiewicz of Shirley, Massachusetts, have also devised several ways to entertain Arcadia, 6, and Carter, 3, during their fall hikes:
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playing Pooh-sticks, where everyone drops a stock off of one side of a bridge over a stream, and then rushes to the other side to see whose stick passes first; |
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picking up rocks (Arcadia wants to be a geologist); |
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catching falling leaves; and |
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inspecting insects. |
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Article © Alice Cary
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